The Declaration of Health Independence

How Well Are Mainstream Health Practices Working Out For Us?

 In terms of overall health, one study has only 3% of adults practicing a healthy lifestyle. 1 75% of American adults claim to eat healthily, but two-thirds of them are overweight, and one-third are obese. 2,3 Another similar study asked whether the participants thought they were healthy despite their healthy diet, and 77% acknowledged that they were not healthy. 4 

Western Medicine and The Food Pyramid 

All of us have choices in life. We can choose to live healthy lifestyles or not. I think you all know how I feel about this subject. I prefer to live the way I do because it feels good, and I have not been sick in years. Unfortunately, I used to get several colds and sinus infections each year. I suffered from cold sores numerous times each year as well. I stuck to the food pyramid and ended up worse off than before; nobody knew what was wrong, but they offered plenty of medications—none of this made sense to me. 

Giving Western medicine and Modern Diet Advice a Time Out 

Enough was enough, and I took matters into my own hands. The first thing I did was rid my diet of processed foods and got my sleep in order. I was so ill that the results were immediate, and I have never looked back. Over the years, I have tweaked my approach many times to see what works best for me. 

 Dedicated To Being Happy And Healthy

I have spent thousands of hours reading papers, going to conferences, watching videos, listening to blogs, and reading books to hone my knowledge. I also make sure I routinely experience eight hours of sleep, get regular exercise, do red light therapy, do pulsed electromagnetic therapy, prepare most of my meals, and spend time with my family every day. 

Dedication Equals Benefit

I stopped getting sick-period. I get no more colds, no more cold sores, no more fatigue, no more brain fog, and no more irritability. I have better concentration, am calmer and happier, have tons of energy, am super lean, have more stamina, have more muscle mass, no longer have food cravings, and feel like I am in my 20's again. I have normal blood pressure, BMI, blood sugar, fasting insulin, testosterone, low triglycerides, high HDL, low markers for inflammation, and no coronary artery calcifications. Am I perfect? No. I am not superman; I am just a regular person enjoying the happy, healthy life we all deserve.

Healthy Lifestyles Validated

I recently heard the primal legend Mark Sisson in an interview with Abel James on his Fat-Burning Man podcast. Mark said something that resonated with me regarding the recent pandemic. He stated that those in the Paleo/Primal/Keto/Ancestral health community have been training for this event for years. You can listen to the full interview here. His specific comments start at 12:40 if you want to skip to it. 

Comorbidities Kill

Sadly, 63.5% of all covid-19 hospitalizations had diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and heart failure. However, since most of us that follow ancestral-based lifestyles are not obese, don't have high blood pressure, and have normal blood sugar, Mark suspects we fared well. I would agree with him. 

Eliminating Comorbidities Can Save Your Life

Of course, nobody could have predicted Covid-19. Still, our community has been dedicated to learning how to be healthy and fit by implementing essential lifestyle modifications for optimal relationships, exercise, sun exposure, stress reduction, and whole-food-based diets. As a result, most of us that do this are lean, fat-adapted, resilient, and have robust immune systems. So, statistically speaking, the fewer underlying health problems one has, the easier time they will have with Covid-19. 

Step One: Change

As they say, "If nothing changes, nothing changes." The first thing we all need to do when presented with difficulties is consider how we got there and what we could have done differently. The answers may not come quickly or easily. Seeking out others whose knowledge you value goes a long way. You may discover new ways of looking at the same old problems. Hopefully, after a bit of time, you may find a different approach that feels better. If you try a new way, you will eventually find out whether it works for you. If your source is trustworthy, chances are it will be beneficial.

Step Two: Think out of the box

  Another big obstacle is our inability to see the alternate choices we have available to us. For example, this week, a patient told me that he is on the road landscaping every day and too busy to eat well. He regrettably eats fast food too often. If he stopped to think about what he could do to change his situation, he might realize that he could easily prepare his lunch and keep it in an insulated lunch bag until he was hungry. In addition, he could probably request healthier alterations to his food, even if he found himself in a fast-food joint. I don't fault my patient for not seeing the obvious. He receives constant messages to stop at fast-food restaurants whether he is aware of it or not. Let's take a brief look at how he is unduly influenced and who is doing the influencing.

Confusion

70% of Americans think granola is healthy, but only 30% of nutritionists do. In other cases, both groups erroneously believe unhealthy choices are healthy: 85% of both consumers and nutritionists claim whole wheat bread to be healthy, it is not. Lastly, consumers and nutritionists shun healthier choices as unhealthy: only 20 % of nutritionists say beef jerky is healthy, while just 30% of consumers do. 1 My point here is not to argue over what foods are healthy or not. Most of you are familiar with where I stand. The fact is that the food industry is primarily controlled by a handful of parent companies with deep pockets who are huge influencers. According to Barry Popkin, the food industry is responsible for our false beliefs, which extend into the mainstream media. I suggest you watch this powerful lecture given by Nora Gedgaudas for a much more in-depth look into this subject.

 We Are All Influenced

Despite all of us having our unique personal version of reality, politicians, media, entertainment, social media, search engines, and advertisers continually influence us into the specific beliefs they wish us to have. Take a look below at the few companies that own many of the foods we regularly purchase. A surprisingly few companies own them all. 

Now take a look at who owns the eleven companies.

It turns out that three companies own most of everything, including media and big pharma. They are BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street. Bloomberg calls BlackRock the fourth branch of government because it's the only private agency that closely works with the central banks. BlackRock not only lends money to the central bank, it is also an advisor. It also develops the central bank's software. In addition, many BlackRock employees work in the White House. The connections get even more convoluted when we find out that the biggest investor in Blackrock is Vanguard. 5,6

It is Not A Conspiracy, It’s a Bad Arrangement

I am not here to peddle conspiracy theories or make you believe that these companies are evil. Suffice to say that fewer voices are trying to influence us than we think. My message is that we should all try harder to use our power of independent rational thought and do what is best for ourselves in our personal lives. By realizing you need to change something, you have taken step one-the hardest step. Sometimes you only need to change one thing to make a huge difference. Please read my post about it here. Step two is to learn what truly works. My personal preference is to read scientific papers, as they are not selling anything. Another great idea is to find someone who does this task for you and presents it in an easy-to-understand way. Chris Kresser and Mark Sisson are two of the best. I am so impressed with Chris; I trained under him to learn about functional medicine. Finally, I try to ignore the messages I hear from those who want my money or vote; money and power are usually their priority, not my health and well-being. 

Post Script

I am not against purchasing products specifically designed for better health, but more straightforward ways are generally better. When I think a product will help, I purchase it if I can. I only use a few gadgets like a red light therapy unit, a sauna, and a pulsed electromagnetic frequency mat, and I only purchased them after many months of research for my own specific needs. I suggest you try steps one and two for quite a while before thinking about buying anything or any food advertising health benefits. Remember that a hard today brings an easy tomorrow; conversely, taking the easy route today makes all of your tomorrows harder.